Toyota wants you to know it has the most fuel efficient line
Click above for 91 high-resolution images of the new Scion xD
Toyota and Honda have battled it out as the greenest automaker these last few years pretty much no matter how you look at it. Honda may have beat Toyota to the hybrid punch with its inaugural Insight model, but there is no arguing that the Prius is the green car standard by which others are judged. Last year, Honda was anointed the Greenest Automaker by the Union of Concerned Scientists, partly because it boasted the highest average fuel efficiency of its entire fleet of cars. Could that status be in danger? Perhaps, and Toyota would like you to know that its line is this year's most fuel efficient. How so? According to the press release pasted after the break, Toyota currently offers eight models which get better than thirty miles per gallon on the highway according to the EPA ... if the Camry hybrid is counted as a separate model from the normal Camry and the Scion xD is included. Additionally, the fuel economy numbers are those used by the NHTSA for CAFE standards, which are not the same as the numbers reported by the EPA. Is all of this just picking nits? Maybe, but there is no arguing that both Toyota and Honda are tops when it comes to the mile per gallon race.
Press Release:
Toyota Offers the Best Overall Average Fuel Economy of any Full-Line Automaker
Through advances in engine design and hybrid technology, Toyota has a wide selection of fuel-sipping cars and the best overall average fuel economy of any full-line manufacturer.*
With gas prices at an all-time high, Toyota has seven models with EPA-rated highway fuel economy of 30 miles per gallon (mpg) or higher such as the four-cylinder Camry, Camry Hybrid (counted as separate model), Solara, Corolla, Matrix, Yaris and Prius. America's favorite hybrid, the Toyota Prius, is the company's highest-mileage vehicle with an EPA highway rating of 45 mpg.
With the addition of the fuel-efficient Scion xD model, the total number increases to eight models.
Among the technological advances contributing to Toyota's fuel economy numbers are Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive(R), variable valve timing with intelligence (VVT-i), improvements in fuel injection technology, Toyota's drive by wire system, transmission enhancements and lighter weight vehicle materials.
MODEL / EPA HWY RATING
4-CYL. CAMRY 31 mpg
CAMRY HYBRID 34 mpg
SOLARA 31 mpg
COROLLA 35 to 37 mpg
MATRIX 31 to 33 mpg
YARIS 35 to 36 mpg
PRIUS 45 mpg
SCION xD 32 to 33 mpg
*According to Corporate Average Fuel Economy filed with NHTSA
[Source: Toyota]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Gordio 5:34PM (6/11/2008)
What about those dumb trucks? Toyota has almost as many trucks/SUVs as honda has the entire lineup. Sequioa, 4runner, tundra, land cruiser, FJ cruiser. They all make the highlander seem like a gas sipper.
But the tundra is just disgusting.
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Karkus 5:56PM (6/11/2008)
Yep, those big gas guzzlers should count against Toyota. It seems to me that the number of models you sell is irrelevant. What matters is the number of each car you sell. So then you use that to get a weighted average.
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Joseph 9:27PM (6/11/2008)
Aghh....
I hate it that Toyota now has the most fuel-efficient line up. I like Honda way better...
I have to laud Toyota for their Prius anyway, which without they could have never even come close to being the most fuel-efficient line up. Remember that the Prius is one of their highest selling vehicles.
I know Honda will be victorous in the long run. Just wait until their Global Hybrid comes out next Fall. Just wait!
"Additionally, the fuel economy numbers are those used by the NHTSA for CAFE standards, which are not the same as the numbers reported by the EPA."
So does this mean that the "35" mpg CAFE standard is measured by the old way the EPA rated fuel economy? Thus, making it easier for automakers to achieve the "35" mpg standard? While if you measured fuel economy with the EPA's new system it would be less?
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Dave 3:53AM (6/12/2008)
"So does this mean that the "35" mpg CAFE standard is measured by the old way the EPA rated fuel economy? Thus, making it easier for automakers to achieve the "35" mpg standard? While if you measured fuel economy with the EPA's new system it would be less?"
Yes.
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bulgarian solicitors 7:57AM (6/12/2008)
Yes Toyota, we know! Will buy again A+++!
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Red 7:37AM (6/12/2008)
Why would you count the Camry Hybrid seperately from the non-hybrid, but not count the trucks and SUVs? The Prius is "rated" to be as fuel efficient as a Civic Hybrid, yet they're touting it's more efficient? I just spoke with several people who are barely getting 40mpg and I've read quite a number of others getting even less than that. And using the NHTSA numbers is a terrible bait-and-switch type tactic (get your customer in, and "oh my...I'm not getting the mileage advertised!").
More Toyota marketing b.s. *roll eyes*
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steven 12:53PM (6/12/2008)
someone posted the backdoor URL to the EPA web page that has the raw/unadjusted CAFE test numbers. I have a XLS copy, but can't seem to find the URL. Drop me an email today at bturbot87-epa(at)yahoo(dot)com and I can send you a copy.
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GSP 7:50AM (6/14/2008)
This is pure marketing BS. I'll eat my hat if Toyota really has "better overall fuel economy" than Honda. They add in fine print "for any full line manufacturer." While most of us may consider Honda's line to be plenty "full," and get the impression that Toyota beat them, Honda does not sell Sequoias, Tundras, Land Crusies, Hino class 8 line haul trucks, full size busses, etc. So Toyota doesn't consider Honda to be "full line." Toyota should be ashamed of themselves for spouting this BS, and Honda should call them on it.
GSP
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